Avista
Utilities anticipates a 1.1 percent growth each year for the next 20 years in
natural gas consumption in Idaho, but maintains it has sufficient gas supply to
serve its 73,000 northern Idaho customers at least through 2022.

The
Idaho Public Utilities Commission is taking comments on Avista’s Integrated
Resource Plan (IRP) through March 23. The commission requires regulated gas and
electric utilities to file an IRP every two years, outlining a plan to meet the
future needs of its customers.

Avista’s
portfolio of natural gas supply resources includes firm capacity rights on six
pipelines and commodity purchase contracts from several supply basins. It also
has storage capacity at basins owned by the company as well as contract
storage. The plan includes price forecasts for natural gas, but notes that
price forecasting is difficult given the current economic situation, the
expectations for new shale gas production and the increased amount of natural
gas used by electric companies for power generation.

Matching
its resource supply with its expected demand, Avista does not anticipate
shortages until at least 2023 and then only if the company did nothing in the
meantime to meet expected future demand.

Avista’s
IRP establishes a near-term action plan to steer the company toward
risk-adjusted, least-cost methods of providing service to customers.

Avista
has identified three issues that could increase risk. They include 1) current
economic conditions and financial markets, 2) the possibility of federal
climate change legislation and 3) an increasing amount of supply coming from
unconventional sources, especially shale gas and liquefied natural gas.

The
IRP includes steps Avista will take to help customers reduce demand including
incentives for the purchase of high-efficiency appliances (water heaters,
clothes dryers, furnaces), insulation, weather-stripping, insulated windows and
duct work and heat recovery systems.

A copy of the
entire plan is available on the commission’s Web site at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on the gas icon,
then on “Open Gas Cases,” and scroll down to Case No. AVU-G-09-06. Comments are
accepted via e-mail by accessing the commission’s Web site and clicking on
"Comments & Questions." Fill in the case number above and enter
your comments. Comments can also be mailed to P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID
83720-0074 or faxed to (208) 334-3762.